Sheet metal awning



May 8 1951 L. GuARcELLo v2,551,736

` l SHEET METAL AwNING Filed Dec. l0, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 8, 1951GUARCELLO 2,551,736

SHEET METAL AwNING Filed Dec. l0, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 va if i 56 40 IJ7 71 l I ""t; 73 v 7L l .56 72 u 57 54 n :l 'M

40 rI J7 May 8, 1951 L. GUARcELLo SHEET METAL AWNING 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Dec.' 10, 1947 Patented May 8, 1951 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICESHEET METAL AWNING Louis Guarcello,`Silver Creek, N. Y.

Application December 10, 1947, Serial No. 790,840

Claims. (Cl. 160 34) This invention relates to a sheet metal awning andit is herein illustrated as applicable to windows of homes, apartments,etc., and to store windows where display of goods on sale can be madewhile protecting the goods from the rays of the sun. f'

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an awning with a frameor housing attachable to a building wall to shade a window and having ashade element formed oi" a plurality of iiexibly-connected shade unitsand which is extensible or contractible on the frame in a verticalplane, the assembly of shade units being such that when the shadeelement is contracted, the ilexibly-connected units will be nested andheld elevated on the frame or housing and when extended be spaced apartregularly and in a manner to prevent the rays of sun passing beyond theshade element, yet enable one behind the latter to have a clear view ofthe outer nearby region.

Another object of my invention is to provide the frame or housingmentioned with a hood having a top inclined outwardly to shed water,said hood having a fixed shade unit attached thereto under whichadjustable shade units of the shade element are nested when the latteris contracted.

Another object is to provide the frame or housing of the awning withparts cr walls serving as vertical guides along which the severaladjustable units of the shade element are guided in their movements.

A further object is to provide an awning which will be self-Ventilating,yet prevent rain, sleet and other elements of the weather enteringthrough the frame or housing or the shade element, and when the latterin extended form is made coextensive with the frame or housing, as maybe desirable in the case of use on individual homes, apartmentbuildings, hotels, office buildings, and the like, the windows of thebuilding to which the awnings are applied may be left open without anypossibility oi rain entering, even in a more than average storm.

With these general statements oi some of the objects of my invention andleaving other objects apparent from the ensuing portion of thisdescription, I will now proceed to describe the embodiments thereofillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate two embodiments of myinvention,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved awning illustrated in anembodiment of my invention adapted for use in connection with a windowof a dwelling, hotel, apartment house, or the like, the shade element ofthe awning .being elevated or contracted to expose the major portion ofthe window.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 2 showing the shade element partlylowered or extended so as to shade the upper portion of the window.

Fig. 5 is a rear view showing the shade element in the positionillustrated in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on line 6 6, Fig. 4, looking in thedirection of the arrow crossing said line.

Fig. l is a perspective sectional view showing a portion of the housing,the raising and lowering roller in relative position thereto, and a Viewof three of the shade units with the flexible connections thereto brokenbetween the two lowermost shade units to indicate the interposition ofadditional shade units in any number required, depending on the heightor length of the window to which the awning is applied.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a portion of the housing showing the means nowemployed for attaching the flexible shade unit suspending-elementstherefrom.

Fig. 9 is a transverse section through one of the shade units showingthe manner in which the flexible suspending-elements are connectedthereto.

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section through a portion of the frame orhousing, showing supplementary sash guides secured thereto and themanner in which sashes may be slidably arranged therein.

Now referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral 39 designates thewall of a building in which a window is included of which only thewindow-frame, designated 3l, is shown.

The window opening is provided with a sill 33, and my improved awning isdesigned to t the window opening and be attached to the window frame bymeans of screws 3d, as for example shown in Fig. 9, or by means of hooksand eyes Srta, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. It, however, is understoodthat the awning may be fastened in place in any other approved manner.

Preferably the awning is constructed to rest on the sill 33 and thuscarry the weight of the same. It, however, is to be understood that theawning may be attached directly to the exterior of the building wall,and this may be found desirable in frame buildings since the Windowcasing provides a smooth surface against which the awning may be held,but it will be understood that with present-day methods of fasteningobjects to brick or stone walls, the same methods may be embodied forfastening the awning to the exterior of such walls adjacent the windowopening.

My improved awning comprises a frame or housing 35, and a hood 36applied to the upper end of the frame or housing for a purpose to appearhereinafter.

The frame or housing 35 has side members 31 and a top member 38connecting said side members, said members being formed of an elongatedstrip of sheet metal, and each of said members having inwardly-bentfianges 39, 40 at their front and rear edges, respectively. The lowerends of the side members 31 are fastened to awooden sill member 4| bymeans of screws or otherwise, thus holding said side members inparallelism. The sill member "il is somewhat narrower than the sidemembers and these side members have an adjusting rod 42 passedtherethrough in close proximity to the front flanges 39 of the housing,stop nuts 43 being adjustably applied to said rod against which theinner surfaces of the side members 31 bear, and securing nuts d4 arethreaded onto the extremities of said rods and bear against the outersurfaces of said side members. In this manner the front portions of saidside members can be slightly fixed inwardly and outwardly so that theinner edges of the inwardly-bent front ilanges 39 may be positionedtruly parallel to each other.

As clearly shown in Fig. 10, each of the rear flanges 49 have sashguides 45 attached thereto by means of screws d6 or otherwise, and asshown in said gure each sash guide is formed of a strip of metal bent toform guideways 41 into which the side edges of screen or window sashesor fdanges thereof are slidably tted.

In the drawings I have shown one sash as a window sash 48 and the otheras a screen sash but both sashes may be screen sashes or window sashes,depending on the season of the year in which they are used.

The hood 39 is constructed of sheet metal and fastened in any suitablemanner to the top of the frame or housing 35. The hood comprises avertical rear member 50 having at its lower end an inwardly-directediiange l screwed, soldered or otherwise fastened to the top member 38, aforwardly inclined top wall 52 having at its front end a depending apronpiece 53 overlying the inwardly-directed flange 39 on said top member38. The purpose of the hood is to shed water or other elements of theweather coming in contact therewith.

A shade element 54 is applied to the front opening 55 of the housing orcasing, said opening having as its limits the inner edges of theinwardly-directed front flanges 39, and this shade element comprises axed shade unit 56 and a plurality or series of adjustable shade units51, the number of adjustable shade units being determined by the heightof the opening 55 in the housing or casing.

The xed shade element has a verticallydisposed member fitting behind theinwardly directed flange 39 of the top member 38, and it is securedthereto by means of screws, solder oi otherwise.

It may here be stated that where parts of the awning structure areconnected together or fitted one to another in a rigid manner, solder,screws, rivets or other conventional means of attaching sheet metalparts together may be employed, and it is believed unnecessary toillustrate such means except in instances where the showing of suchconnections is considered necessary to a better understanding of theinvention.

The adjustable shade units 51 are ilexibly connected and suspended sothat they may be raised or lowered and when fully raised be nestedtogether and all nested into the said xed unit 56. For this purposeiiexible connector elements 53 are secured at their upper ends to thetop member 38 of the frame or housing and the connections oi' theseelements to said shade units 51 are made near opposite ends of thelatter. Each of these connector elements has the adjustable shade unitsattached thereto in spaced relation, the lowermost adjustable unit beingattached to the lower ends of said flexible elements, so that when thelatter are drawn taut by lowering of the shade element, all adjustableshade units are spaced apart equi-distantly and the uppermost adjustableunit is spaced a like distance from the fixed shade unit 5E.

I nd a flexible element in the form of metal balls connected by a wireor other slender ilexible strand spacing said balls apart to serve thepurpose of connecting the adjustable shade units very effective, suchconnector elements being commonly used in pull-chain electricbulbsockets and the like, and when used in my invention, each of theadjustable shade units has a small opening 59 punched therein near eachend and a slit 59 extending from said opening to one edge of a part ofsaid unit.

Each of the adjustable shade units 51 is formed of a strip of metal bentlongitudinally at a right angle near one edge thereof to form ahorizontal portion 6| and a vertical portion 62, and at the lower end ofthe vertical portion the metal is bent at an obtuse angle to form anoutwardly-sloping portion 63 and a depending apron portion 6d formed atan obtuse angle to the sloping portion,

The horizontal portion 6l is in the form of a flange extendingrearwardly from the highest point of each shade unit and the smallopenings 59 extend through said flange in the form of shade unitdescribed, the slits 69 extending from the openings rearwardly to therear edge of said flange. These shade units are attached to the flexibleconnector element 58 by bending the metal at one or both sides of theslits sufliciently to allow exposed portions of the wires or slenderstrands between the balls to be passed therethrough and enter theopenings at the inner ends of the so-opened slits, after which the metalat opposite sides of the open slits is brought into alinement to closethe latter and to conne the flexible elements, or ball chains as theymay be termed in the form shown, to the shade units. These shade unitsare therefore connected together in spaced-apart relation, the spacesbeing determined by the number of balls in the ball chain locatedbetween the flanges 6I of the several shade units.

When the said flexible elements are extended so as to separate the shadeunits to their maximum limit, the entire weight of the shade units iscarried by these flexible elements or ball chains, and when said shadeelement is contracted to nest the shade units in the form shown in Fig.2,

uppermost adjustable shade unity in a manner tol prevent the rays of thesunfrom passing through the space between the fixed shade unit and theIuppermost adjustable unit. xThis is due tothe position oi the outwardlysloping portion and depending portion of the fixed shade unit withrespect to the position of theuppermost adjustable unit, and since suchrelationship is effected between each adjustable shadeI unit and theshade unit directly beneath, the rays of the sun, regardless of itsposition, cannot pass through the shadeelement, yet by reason. of thespacing of the shade elements and the inclination given those and loweror extend the same, it is necessary toguide the shade unitsralong averticalplane a-nd for thispurpose the outwardlyl sloping portion 63 ofeach shade unit is slotted at each end, asat 65, and the slots so formedreceive the front flanges 3d of the frame or housing 35, with the resultthat the front surfaces of the vertical portions 62 at opposite ends ofthe shade units may ride in contact with the inner surfaces of thesaidanges. rlhis relationship is maintained due to the fact that the greaterportion of' each shade unit extends forwardly beyond the plane of saidflanges, and since such outwardly-extending portions are of greaterweight than the horizontal and vertical portions 6i and (i2 of saidshadeunits, firm sliding contact is assured between portions ofthelatter and the inner surfaces of the flanges 39 when lowering the shadeelement.

The corners formed by the front walls of they slot t5 and the end edgesof the shade units in which said slot are fashioned are curveddownwardly, as at 66, as best shown inV Figs. 4, 7.

These curved portions are adapted to ridein contact with the frontsurfaces of the front flanges Se. along both the front and rear surfacesof the flanges yet permit upward tilting of the outwardly-extendingportions of said units to nest more readily one within another whilemaintaining its guided relationship to said flanges.

Provision, of course, is made for raising or contracting and forlowering or extending the shade element, and for this purpose anelongated cylindrical element or raising and lowering roller 6l is journaled for rotation underneath the top wall 38 of the frame orhousing, brackets 68 receiving trunnions t9 at the ends of the rollerbeing fastened to the inner surfaces of the side members 3l by means ofscrews or otherwise. Each of the adjustable shade units has openings 'I0formed in the horizontal portions or flanges BI thereof at oppositesides of the vertical center of the shade element, and passed looselythrough said openings are raising and lowering flexible elements 'l i,which have their upper ends fastened to said cylindrical element orroller and their lower ends arranged to at all times support the'lowermost adjustable shade unit. These flexible elements may be knottedunderneath the lowermost shade element so as to prevent dislodgementThus the shade units are guided 6 of the-same therefrom, the knotssoformed serving as stops for the flexible elements. against which thelowermost shade unit rests, and manifestly these stops may be otherwiseformed;

The upper ends of these flexible raising and lowering elements are woundaround said cylindrical element or roller, and when rotating the latterin-onedirection, cause the adjustable shade units to be drawn upwardlyone after the` other, starting from the lowermost unit, these shadeunits being heldI spaced-apart by thev connector ball chains or otherflexible elements, portions of which latter located between a unitbeing-raised and theunit next above coiling or folding'up until the unitbeing raised engages the one next above and lifts the lattery therewith,thisbeing continued successively with thegradual nesting of theadjustable shade units until the shade element isV raised to the extentdesired, as for example shown inl Fig. Ll ofthe drawings, inwhichseveral of the lowermost units are nested and the re'- mainingunits retained in spaced or separated condition. This nesting of theshade units may be continued until the shade element is raised to itsmaximum height, as shown for example in Figs. l and 2.

InA order to lower the shade element to any desired extent or toitsrfull extent, the cylindrical. element or roller 6l is rotated in anopposite direction, passing out portions ofv the flexiblerais'- ing andlowering elements wound around said roller, under which action theuppermost adjuste able shade elements are allowed to separatewhileretaining the others in nested position, the separation taking placesuccessively from top to bottornl ofthe shade element.

The means I have selected for rotating the cylindrical element or roller61 is a flexible op'- erating element or rope l2, the upper end of whichis secured to and wound around the cylindrical element or roller 6'! inadirection opposite that in which the flexible raising and loweringelements are wound around the same; thus, when drawing upon andunwinding the coiled portion of the flexible operating element or ropel2, said flexible raising and lowering elements are wound around saidcylindrical element or roller. The shade` elementk can thusv bepositioned in any adjusted position by fastening the operating elementor cord to one of the side members 3l of the frame or housing, asuitable xture, such as shown at T3 or otherwise, being fastened to saidside wall for the purpose.

When releasingl the flexible operating element i or cord l2, thecombined weight of theshade unitswill: permit uncoiling of thevcoiled-up portion of the raising and lowering elements l i.,the'operator retaining the operating 'element or rope; taut and undercontrol until the shade element is lowered fully or to the extentdesired, after which the operating element or cord is again. fastened.

to the side wall and the shade element thus re tained in the positiondesired for the same.

The llexible connector element 53, or shadesuspending elements as theymay be termed, may be fastened to the top member 33 of the frame orhousing in any suitable manner, but when using a. ball-chain, openings1d are formed in said top member, the balls of the ball-chains at theupper endsv thereof being passed through said openings. The wires orslender elements between the uppermost ball of the chain and the ballimmediately spaced therefrom is passed through a slitted retainer T5which is in the form 0f a flat piece of metal. having asmall opening 16there'-` through, from which the metal is slit outwardly to one edgethereof, as at Tl, and in order to secure the ball-chain to eachretainer, the metal at opposite sides of the slit is bent relatively soas to separate the walls of the slit sufficiently to permit the wire orslender connection between the two uppermost balls to be passedtherethrough and enter the small opening 'I6 in the retainer, theuppermost ball of the ball-chain being larger than said opening assuresa secure connection of the ball-chain of the retainer. After positioningthe chain in the retainer, the retainer is flattened so that portions atopposite sides of the slit are again alined, and all possibility of thechain separating therefrom eliminated. These retainers then arepositioned to lie against the upper surface of the top member 3B withthe ball-chains extending through the openings 14 in said member.

Considering the advantages gained by the use of my invention, theapparatus is of the simplest and most inexpensive construction, sincemost of the parts thereof are of sheet metal stampings, and its actionis nevertheless essentially practical and effective. The assemblying ofthe parts and the application of the apparatus to a building does notrequire the employment of skilled labor or expert supervision. In fact,the embodiment of my invention desig-ned for ordinary windows can beinstalled by any inexperienced person, since no more effort or knowledgeis required than that for applying window screens or storm windows.

In accordance with the provision of the patent statutes, I havedescribed the principle of operation of my invention in what I nowconsider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to haveit understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that theinvention can be carried out by various changes in construction andassemblage of parts so long as a detachable frame or housing is providedhaving the essential operating elements shown and described inconnection therewith.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A sheet metal awning, comprising a frame having a horizontal top walland side walls provided at opposite marginal portions withinwardly-directed flanges, said inwardly-directed flanges serving asguide tracks, a shade element formed of a plurality of shade unitsvertically movable along said guide tracks, said shade units havingsubstantially right-angled upper portions, outwardly slopingintermediate portions and aprons serving as lower portions, each of saidunits having slots at opposite ends at the junction of its right-angledupper portion and its outwardly sloping intermediate portion receivingsaid inwardly-directed flanges, a roller rotatably mounted in said frameat its upper end in a plane in rear of said guide tracks, flexibleelements secured to said roller and wound around the same in onedirection, said flexible elements passing freely through theright-angled upper portions of said plurality of shade units and havingtheir lower ends permanently supporting the lowermost of said pluralityof shade units, flexible connections secured at their upper ends to saidhorizontal top wall and to said rightangled upper portions in spacedrelation, and a flexible operating element secured to said roller andwound around the same in a direction opposite the winding of saidfirst-mentioned flexible elements whereby upon unwinding said flexibleoperating element the said first-mentioned flexible elements will bewound around said roller and the shade units lifted successively fromthe lowermost shade unit to the uppermost shade unit.

2. A sheet metal awning, comprising a frame having a horizontal top walland side walls spaced apart and held in parallelism, a hood mounted onsaid top wall and having an outwardly sloping top wall, a shade elementcomprising a fixed shade unit secured to said top wall and extendingoutwardly therefrom and a plurality of adjustable shade units movabletoward and from said fixed shade unit, means to draw said adjustableshade units upwardly to nest the same underneath said fixed unit and toallow said adjustable shade units to be lowered, each of said shadeunits having an inwardly-directed horizontal flange at its upper end.flexible elements secured at their upper ends to said top wall andhaving fixed connection with the inwardly-directed horizontal flanges ofsaid adjustable shade units in a manner to allow said flexible elementsto automatically fold between said flanges when said adjustable shadeunits are nested and to limit the downward movement of said shade unitsunder tautness of said flexible connections between said flanges.

3.'A sheet metal awning, comprising a frame having a horizontal top walland side walls spaced apart in parallelism, a shade element comprisinga, plurality of shade units vertically adjustable along said side walls,means to raise or lower said shade units in succession, each shade unithaving an inwardly-directed horizontal flange at its upper end slit fromits inner edge outwardly and provided with a circular opening at theinner end of each slit, the slits in said shade units being arranged intwo spaced-apart vertical series, ball chains secured at their upperends to said top wall and comprising spaced-apart spherical elements andflexible connections between said spherical elements with the flexibleconnections at spaced-apart points being passed through the slits ofsaid shade units and entered into the circular openings at the innerends thereof to thus hold said shade units in spaced-apart relation whenlowered, said flexible elements being held taut when said shade unitsare separated to their maximum degree and being allowed to fold betweensaid inwardly-directed flanges when said shade units are nested or drawntogether. 4. A sheet metal awning, comprising a vertically elongatedframe having a horizontal top wall and side walls extending downwardlytherefrom and having inwardly-directed flanges at their outer edgesserving as guide tracks, a roller rotatably mounted within said framebeneath said top wall, a shade element comprising a series of shadeunits extending across the front of said frame, each shade unit beingbent longitudinally to form an outwardly-sloping portion, an apronextending from the lower edge of said outwardlysloping portion, asubstantially vertical portion extending from the upper edge of saidoutwardlysloping portion and a horizontal flange extending inwardly fromsaid substantially Vertical portion, said horizontal flange havingopenings near opposite ends, a flexible element passed through theopenings near each end of said horizontal flanges and having its lowerend in fixed relation to the lowermost shade unit and its upper endattached to said roller and wound around the same in one direction,flexible elements connecting said shade units together near oppositeends so that they may be held in fixed spacedapart relation when saidshade element is lowered, the upper ends of said last-mentioned flexibleelements being attached to points of said frame above all of said shadeunits, said shade units being slotted at opposite ends near the junctionoi their vertical flanges with the outwardlysloping portions thereof andhaving the corners formed by said slots and the end edges of said unitsbent downwardly, said guide tracks being entered in said slots toprevent undue inward or outward swaying of the shade element when beingraised or lowered, and a flexible operating element secured to saidroller and adapted to be Wound around the same in a direction oppositethe winding of said first-mentioned flexible elements therearound so asto cause the latter to be unwound under gravity when releasing saidiiexible operating element to permit the latter to automatically be.wound up and to cause said rst-mentioned ilexible element to be woundup when pulling said operating element and causing the latter to beunwound.

5. A sheet metal awning, comprising a frame having a top Wall and sidewalls provided at their outer edges with inwardly-directed flangesserving as guide tracks, a shade element vertically adjustable alongsaid guide tracks, means to raise and lower said shade element, saidshade element including a plurality of shade units flexibly connectedtogether in a manner to permit limited operation thereof, said meansincluding ball chains spaced apart along said shade units and eachattached at spaced-apart intervals to said shade units, said top Wallhaving openings therethrough through each o which a ball of one of saidball chains is passed from the bottorn of said Wall, at ball chainretainers lying against the upper surface of said top wall to close saidopenings, each of said retainers having a slit formed therein extendinginwardly from one of its edges and terminating in a hole large enough topermit the flexible connection of its associated ball chain to passthereinto When said at retainer is bent to disaline the same at oppositesides of its slit and to position said ball of the chain passed throughsaid opening so as to rest against the retainer when the retainer isrebent to normal at form and thus securely fasten said ball chain tosaid top wall.

LOUIS GUARCELLO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 568,443 Henning Sept. 29, 18961,810,771 Krueger June 16, 1931 1,893,182 Seregi Jan. 3, 1933 2,158,682Sweney May 16, 1939 2,164,556 Udstad July 4, 1939 2,328,305 De StefanoAug. 31, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 110,357 Australia Apr.10, 1940

